Thanks to you both. No, Nancy not this year. It was a "one and done" thing for the team I was on last year, and that is fine with me. It was just way too much last year with more teams than ever and more headaches with logistics.

Finished my first 20 miler this week and my first 50 mile week. Left ITB a bit tight and the left knee was a bit sore when I started my recovery run this morning, but a quick stretch and it was fine. Run followed by lots of foam rolling and all feels good to go. Next week the schedule is a bit easier and although the long run is shorter - 12 miles of it are to be at MP. That will be most challenging here with the terrain!

It is hard to believe that there is really only one more week of summer (not calendar officially or vernal equinox officially, but in terms of real life officially). Up until last week, it was also one of my more successful summers of running both in terms of miles and injuries in that I ran a lot of them and none occurred. Oh I have a couple of little niggles due to tightness and just training in general and even though I wasn't happy with the last week of runs, I really have had a good summer of training. As for those bad runs, they do happen and sometimes it is hard to face up to that age thing in terms of pushing myself. After all, I'm complaining about an aborted LT run (ran 3.5 out of 5 LT miles just 3 days after a tough 5K race (2.7 hilly miles) and 5 days after a 20 on very tired legs and then my last long run in which I did only 8 instead of 12 MP miles (in high humidity and after being chased by a dog) - so really I have nothing to complain about. Yup, it is just hard to accept that they will not all be perfect days - type A personality - welcome to the club.Highlights of the summer were big though: 1) I ran the most amount of miles in a month than I had in many years - 198 in July 2) I nailed 3 out of 4 of my LT runs ( and the last one was the one described above) 3) I successfully slowed down my long runs and have felt real good on all of them with the 20 being kind of easy and not a trial or slog fest 4) I ran the fastest time on that 2.7 mile hilly race since 2004 (I ran 19:35 in 2011 and thought I was in great shape and ran 19:30 this year) 5) The hills are feeling easy (even if I don't run them as fast as I used to) and 6 miles feels like the new 3It will be interesting to see what I feel like when I get back to Cleveland on flatter terrain but in slightly warmer temperatures and I'll get my first dose on Sunday when I pace the Rock Hall Half Marathon. www.rockhallhalfmarathon.com I'm the 2:00 hr pacer which should be a relatively easy pace and I sure hope that it is. I always worry just a bit, but for the most part I should be fine especially after this down week of mileage.And a quick recap of last week's mileage:Monday - No running, but worked out in the gym with AnnieTuesday - Comfortable 8 miles (8:57 overall pace) with 10 20 sec pickupsWednesday - Easy 12 miles (9:33 pace) with Chris on Fran's Loop (hilly) followed by an hour of yogaThursday - Recovery 6.6 miles (9:33 pace)Friday - Yoga classSaturday - 16 miles with 8 @ LT (supposed to be 12); 9:06 overall pace per mileSunday - 5.5 miles (8:44 overall pace)WTD: 48.1 YTD: 1242 Last year at this time I had run 1122 miles - so I've got 120 more miles with some downtime in early February.

Happy nearly end of (your) summer, Michele! Sure doesn't feel like summer's ever going to end, but it's probably not all that far away. I hope that cooler temperatures means even more good runs for you heading into the fall.

You do seem to be having a great training cycle Michele. In looking back at your posts a couple things stand out that seem important.

You've got a plan and are sticking to it but listening to your body and adjusting when necessary.

You've learned and adapted the plan as needed (slowing down the long runs).

You often train with friends.

And possibly the most important you regularly work on your core and strength.

I'm sure there are other things that have helped make you so successful this cycle but these are the things that caught my eye. We could all just say you have more talent and more experience than the rest of us...or that you've just been lucky...but I think you're an excellent example of what happens when you train hard and train smart.

@Mark B wrote:Happy nearly end of (your) summer, Michele! Sure doesn't feel like summer's ever going to end, but it's probably not all that far away. I hope that cooler temperatures means even more good runs for you heading into the fall.

I hope cooler weather prevails as we finally have summer weather these last couple of days - did you send it over from the Pac NW? We have been fine without the high temps and just humdity, but not both. (It is 87F presently and 88% humidity)

@nkrichards wrote:You do seem to be having a great training cycle Michele. In looking back at your posts a couple things stand out that seem important.

You've got a plan and are sticking to it but listening to your body and adjusting when necessary.

You've learned and adapted the plan as needed (slowing down the long runs).

You often train with friends.

And possibly the most important you regularly work on your core and strength.

I'm sure there are other things that have helped make you so successful this cycle but these are the things that caught my eye. We could all just say you have more talent and more experience than the rest of us...or that you've just been lucky...but I think you're an excellent example of what happens when you train hard and train smart.

Enjoying following along...thanks for sharing.

Thanks Nancy, I appreciate those kind words. i hope that I'm just realizing what I have to do to stay ahead of the curve.

216! Well not only is it the area code for Cleveland, OH, it is also the final total number of miles that I ran in August. So after running just shy of 200 in July which was my highest total in many years, I surpassed it easily in August, and I must say that I am actually surprised because I felt like I was running less mileage this month than last. This past week was my first week after leaving CHQ, so many of those miles were done in "flat" Cleveland and in very cool weather (for August) as we had a cold front pass through. That was kind of odd as the end of the week was spent in Boston and it was much, much warmer there.

The week started with my pacing of the Rock Hall Half Marathon in downtown Cleveland on Sunday, the 23rd. This was a brand new race for the area directed by the group out of the Mentor area that directs the 10 and 20 Mile Drop Races in April, the Hill Yeah Half in June, and the Northeast Ohio Half and Full Marathons in early October. The half marathon had over 100 finishers which I think was excellent for a first time race especially in August and the week before many schools started for the new year. I do think some may have boycotted the race believing it to be the resurrection of the Rock 'N Roll (Competitor Group) race from 2013, but it was not and I hope that the word spreads.

I was the 2 hour pacer and I finished at 1:59:35 (clock time). Misjudged a bit forgetting the 15 sec off the chip but still maintained a very steady pace that I was pleased with. I had a group of 20-25 runners for much of the way and many of them who had never broken 2 hrs successfully did just that. It helped that we were blessed with relatively cool weather with lower for an August morning and it didn't get into the mid-70s until my group was at 11 miles. The course was pretty flat with a nice, shaded downhill on MLK Blvd. All in all, to me it was well run and well attended for a first year attempt.

The cool weather stayed for the week along with some overcast skies which were very welcome for both my 2nd speed session of this training period (and first on a real track) and my long run on Wednesday morning. Managed to run my second 20 miler around Bay and River by myself which will definitely help my mental strength going into October's race. I worked at keeping the pace slow in the beginning and ran the last two miles comfortably at 9 min pace for an overall 9:24 pace. That combined with a successful track session has me believing that I am fit to run a marathon, but the last aborted MP run still has me a bit concerned. I won't be running my usual half marathon this month to give me some confidence, so I will have to rely on another MP run and an LT/MP run when I head back to western NY and the hills next weekend. I plan to spend another week there running those hills and then capping off the weekend with my third 20-something run as part of the Erie Marathon. The current plan is to run 22 of the 26 miles very comfortably - so I hope the weather is good.

A recap of the last week of August is as follows:

Monday - 6 recovery miles after pacer dutiesTues - 7.14 miles of Speedwork (2K, 1mile,1K, 800m); Core work and weights with JakeWed - 20.25 mile long runThurs - Drive with Shannon to Boston for Senior Year!Fri - 6.0 miles in NatickSat - 5.45 miles on Esplanade before returning to CLESun - 10 easy miles in the Metropark

WTD: 54.84

I expected to be very tired this morning especially as I attended my first core class of the Fall, but I easily ran 5 recovery miles and hope to be able to run a decent track session tomorrow night even if summer has returned just a bit. Had to continually slow down this morning to keep the pace and HR in recovery territory. Never sure if that is good or bad. Headed back to the hills of CHQ this weekend. We will see.

That 5 miles capped off the 216! 216 - let's hope it is a magic number.

@nkrichards wrote:Wow, you have been getting the miles in...and quality miles too. You've got to be feeling confident about this training cycle...

Well, I was until yesterday morning. After the cool weather last week, summer has returned with a vengeance. After Monday's easy recovery run, i ran a solid speedwork session on Tuesday night even in the 84F temperatures. However, I'm surmising that I didn't re-hydrate enough and I died at mile 11 in my 12 mile medium long run yesterday. At least I felt like I ran a solid 11 miles and then the wheels just fell off but it was also 78F by then and I was out of water. I let my mind take over and slowed way down to finish the 12. Tonight I am just running recovery miles with the group and not the workout that they are doing (which is a 6.5 mile tempo run) since it is 90F right now. A 6.5 mile tempo run in that weather will be a 10K race - lol! I've also rearranged my schedule a bit in that I m driving back to NY tomorrow rather than Saturday to close up the house and take in the boat, etc. I'm planning on running my 16 there over the hills and in slightly cooler weather. I want to run the hills again as I miss them here in CLE. I'm going to spend the week up there getting some work done on my house and cap it off with running another 20 (maybe 22) miler as part of the Erie marathon. I'm planning on dropping out so not wearing my chip. Good workout on a flat course.

Yesterday's 22 at Erie went very well. After a Labor Day Weekend of 90F temps, a front came through bringing colder temps and rain which brought perfect weather to Erie yesterday morning. It was still raining when we left western NY to drive the hour west, but by the time we got to Erie, the rain had stopped and the temp was about 58F with not bad humidity. I started out running around a 9:50 pace and picked up an entourage of three women and two guys who wanted to run around 4:20 and we were right on pace. The three women were running their first marathons and the guys were two I had paced in CLE in late August. I had no intention of running the entire distance and I told the five that I would keep them on pace until half way. At half, I was bringing down my pace and I didn't want them to speed up. Now one of the women, Rachel, had actually trained to run a 4:15 marathon, so at the half, she stayed with me as I brought the pace down. In fact, she tried to drop the pace even further and I kept her in check until I had to veer off the course just past 20 miles (to head back to the finish for my 22). She ended up running 4:13 which was better than she imagined. The others all finished between 4:18 and 4:26 - so it was a success.

As for me, I ran 3:29:25 for the 22 miles which was very comfortable and I felt like I could easily have run more when I finished and I'm feeling very good today. This week is a step back recovery mileage week with one more good week to go next week.

REST (OR)CROSSTRAIN

VOMAX9 MILES4 X 12001 X 1600400 REST

MED-LONG10 MILES

RECOVERY5 MILES

REST (OR)CORE

LONG-MP16 MI12 MPMP = 8:25

RECOVERY5 MILES

45

My challenge will be the MP miles on Saturday. Following this step back week, I have another 50+ mileage week planned with another 21 miles done as part of a relay team at Akron. Akron is a "hillier" course than Erie (which is pretty much flat although not as flat as Chicago) and more like the Columbus course.

This high mileage week was good in that I successfully ran a 10 miler on Tuesday in the still warm temps and on the rolling terrain in NY where I did 6 miles alternating LT/MP in the middle. I hit all the mileage time which gave me a boos of confidence in addition to yesterday's run.

This was a good step back week that I altered just a bit. Due to scheduling and other things, I changed my MP run from Saturday to Thursday and I cut it back to only 14 - but still 12 miles of MP. Glad I made the switch as the weather gods were right this time, and Saturday morning was the same temp as Thursday morning but with much higher humidity. I was able to run the 12 miles averaging 8:23 pace which is right given the discrepancies of a Garmin, but honestly, I'm not sure that I can actually maintain that pace for 26.2 miles, but I assume that it will be more like Erie temperature-wise in October in C-Bus. I also feel a little confidence boost in that I ran a 12 mile MP run a couple of weeks later last year and at just a slightly slower pace overall, and I know how fit I was at NY last November. Even though Saturday's 12 miles felt hard, this morning's run felt very easy - so there is hope yet! So my WTD was as follows:

Mon - Day off, drive back to Ohio from western NYTues - 6 miles with speedwork (2K, 1 mile,1K, 800m); Core work with Jake and stretchingWed - 6 easy miles after core classThurs - 14 miles with 12 @ MP (8:23 average pace for the 12); Core work and stretchingFri - Day offSaturday - Very tough 12 miles, legs felt like leadSunday - Easy 5 that felt just that - easy

WTD: 43 miles YTD: 1492

It's cool to see that I'm almost at 1500 miles and will surpass that tomorrow. Back a few years and I barely got to 1500 miles for the year. Here's to hoping that I can stay injury free and keep it that way.

This coming weekend will be my final 20+ of the cycle as part of the Akron marathon. Originally we signed up to run with our friend Mike and help him reach his 4 hour goal, but unfortunately, he was hurt earlier in the summer and although he is running again, he knew he wasn't ready to go 26.2 and he deferred. Smart move on his part, and I wish I had been as smart so many other times.

Still hoping the weather will be good for C-Bus so that NY can just be fun. I have even determined that I can drop at 17 miles at NY if I need to and then jog it in to the park. No worries, I will remove my chip if I choose to do that. Don't think I've ever done marathons 2 wks apart - I have done 4 wks, so we will see.

So taper is finally here and it is a welcome site. I am pretty beat up, just tired no injuries, as I ran a lot of miles this summer. After today's run, I will have 219 miles for the month of September, so adding in that I ran 198 miles in July and 216 in August - I surpassed the total number of miles that I ran in many years today. I'm hoping the adage of "Run More" helps in this case. Yesterday's speed work was off a bit as it was strangely 74F and 90+% humidity in the morning (with a little drizzle). I felt a bit slow but I can probably chalk it up to those weather conditions and being a bit tired. A weather front has arrived and I am waiting to get in today's run as it is still very dark out, overcast although we expect no more rain, and extremely windy. I might actually get blown off the road if I stay too close to the lake. No issue, it will just be like running the NY marathon last year.

Ran my last 20+ this past Saturday as part of the Akron Marathon. Since the runner we were to pace dropped back to a 5 hr race, we decided to just line up at the 2nd exchange point and run to the finish - just shy of 21 miles. That gives me four runs of 20+ this cycle and I often do 2, maybe 3 max at that distance. I know that leading up to Boston the last couple of years, I did not get in more than two runs of that distance, but primarily because of the road conditions and weather which forced me inside a lot. Here's to hoping El Nino brings less snow as I can deal with the cold better than frozen snow. The lake is still pretty warm and if El Nino keeps things warmer, the lake effect will be interesting this winter especially if Erie doesn't freeze all the way.

Going to run a local 5K on Saturday to see if I have some race legs, and then I am pacing a half marathon on the far east side of town on Sunday. It is supposed to rain on Saturday which will make for an interesting race, and then clear up and be cool on Sunday. A high only in the 60s, and it was over 80 the last couple of days. I'm also supposed to go to the Indians game on Saturday night and they could still be in the hunt. That depends though on the weather and if they are out of it by then. The high on Saturday is predicted to be only 58F. Fall might be arriving finally. Of course, I won't be complaining in a couple of weeks if fall weather appears in C-Bus on the 18th of October.

Success - ran a 22:13 5K in 44F weather with rain and wind. Felt good and I felt like I was going faster in the last couple of miles but the wind was stronger than me (gusts up to 24 mph according to the local weather)., HR was perfect and legs are feeling so much better than earlier in the week.

Pacing a 2:10 half tomorrow and it supposed to be a beautiful morning - wind to be gone, temps in the low 50s, and sunshine!

I was a bit lax on blogging the last couple of weeks of taper, but I still put in the miles and the work along with a final 6 miles with 2 @ MP last Wednesday morning. I also cut out my core class and only went to two (not 4) training sessions to make sure the body healed and was ready. I also did a true carb deplete/carb load which I had not done in several years. The last two weeks in summary are below. Race went extremely well in spite of my doubts over the last couple of weeks. More to come in an actual race report later.